Political commentary from the LA Times

Far left has taken over Democratic Party, Sen. Bayh says

January 19, 2010 | 4:48
pm

Victory has many proud parents. Defeat has a whole lot of pointing fingers. Or something like that.

As The Ticket noted first thing this morning, the blame game has already started in the startling Massachusetts U.S. Senate race, operating on the always dangerous assumption that someone has won (Republican Scott "I Drive a Pickup, You Know" Brown) and someone has lost (Democrat Martha "Ewh, Shake Hands with Those People?" Coakley) before the votes are counted.

But, hey, why not?

If staunch lifelong Democrat and son of a staunch lifelong Democrat Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana is doing it, then it must be OK.

He's not yet joined the no-you-didn't-yes-we-did-why-didn't-you-call-for-help-sooner-well-hello-we-did-but-you-weren't-listening-because-of-that-inside-DC-healthcare-dance-Obama-wants-so-badly.

But he is warning that, assuming Coakley the Democrat is electoral toast come balloon-dropping time tonight, Democrats need to learn an important lesson -- and learn it quite quickly. Bayh, who is one of those gutless moderates who just keeps on winning because he listens and stays connected back home, says his party and president have simply abandoned moderation to push a far-left agenda that alienates moderates and, hello, independents, who happen to make up about half of the Massachusetts electorate.

Says Bayh to ABC News: "It’s why moderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren’t buying our message. They just don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems. That’s something that has to be corrected."

Bayh, once discussed as a VP for the next-door smooth-talking guy from Illinois, predicts fellow Democrats will go into denial tomorrow if state Sen. Brown becomes U.S. Sen. Brown.

"The only we are able to govern successfully in this country," Bayh warns, "is by liberals and progressives making common cause with independents and moderates. Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country -- that’s not going to work too well.”

Ironically, that's the same argument Democrats made successfully in 2008 to dump all those GOP suits over on the far side of the other side.